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Pigs Were The First Animals To Be Domesticated.

National Pig Day, observed annually on the 1st of March, recognizes the domesticated pig. This holiday includes events and celebrations at zoos, schools, nursing homes and sporting events around the United States.  Pig parties, pig parades and gatherings with pig collectibles are a few of the other events that have commemorated National Pig Day.

  • Pigs are a clever and intelligent animal, however, most people are not aware of their high level of intelligence.  They are a household pet to some that can be trained and taught tricks.
  • In Dublin in 1772, a trained swine called the Learned Pig told time, counted and other such tricks to entertain crowds in the streets.
  • There was a famous, if fictitious, Learned Pig in London in the late 1700s which seemed to gain his learnedness from his mother eating an entire volume of Sir Robert Filmer’s manuscripts and “Saobeverel’s Sermons” before she delivered him into the world. He was born with an intelligence that seemed obvious just by looking. When one day he feasted upon the garden of the great Milton himself he began waxing poetic.
  • Pigs have been popular storybook characters for generations. From A.A. Milne’s Piglet to E.B. White’s Wilbur, pigs have an endearing and flavorful quality about them that makes us love them.
  • There are hundreds of different breeds, most of which are descended from the Eurasian Wild Boar.
  • The female is called a gilt or sow and can produce 10 piglets in a single litter.
  • They also produce bacon, ham, baby back ribs, spare ribs, sirloin, pork belly and oh, so many more delectable barbecue items it would be a shame to not honor the swine on this day of all days.
  • this day was created in 1972 by two sisters, Ellen Stanley and Mary Lynne Rave.  Ellen was a school teacher in Lubbock, Texas and Mary was from Beaufort, North Carolina. According to Mary Lynne Rave, the purpose of National Pig Day is “to accord the pig its rightful, though generally unrecognized, place as one of man’s most intellectual and domesticated animals.”
  • Pigs are one of the smartest animals on the planet. Their intelligence ranks higher than dogs and even some primates.
  • In their natural state, pigs are very clean animals. They keep their toilets far from their living or feeding area.
  • They are much more tolerant of colder temperatures than heat. Pigs have no sweat glands, so they can’t sweat hence enjoy being in mud to keep themselves cool.
  • Pigs are very social animals. They form close bonds with each other and other species and some like to cuddle up close, especially at low temperatures.
  • When they are trained, piglets can learn their names by two to three weeks of age and respond when called and can learn tricks faster than dogs.
  • Pigs use their grunts to communicate with each other. The grunts made by pigs vary depending on the pig’s personality and can convey important information about the welfare of this highly social species.
  • Pigs have very long memories and can remember things even years later.
  • Newborn piglets learn to run to their mothers’ voices, and mother pigs can communicate with them through her grunts while they suckle. From scientific research it is found that piglets have a certain teat order, and every piglet has its own teat.
  • The highest density of tactile receptors is found in the pig’s snout. Pigs use it mainly to dig in the dirt and smell for food. A pig´s sense of smell is about 2000 times more sensitive than humans.
  • They like to get massages, (in natural conditions) use trees for rubbing, relax while listening to music, are very curious animals and like enrichment.
  • Sweating like a pig? Probably not. Pigs don’t have sweat glands. They keep cool by rolling in the mud.
  • Think you can outrun a pig? The mammal is surprisingly fast and can clock a 7-minute mile.
  • Pigs snuggle close to one another and prefer to sleep nose to nose. They dream, much as humans do. In their natural surroundings, pigs spend hours playing, sunbathing, and exploring.
  • Pigs do not “eat like pigs” or “pig out.” They prefer to eat slowly and savor their food.
  • Winston Churchill famously said that “Dogs look up to man. Cats look down to man. Pigs look us straight in the eye and see an equal.”
  • The pig is the last of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. The pig is seen to represent, fortune, honesty, happiness and virility.
  • Pigs have 15,000 taste buds! Humans have 9,000.
  • There are about 2 billion pigs on earth!
  • Pigs have 4 toes on each foot but they only walk on 2.
  • China has the most domesticated pigs in the world! The United States is 2nd.
  • Pigs are easily trained to walk on a leash, use a litter box and do tricks.
  • In Denmark there twice as many pigs as people!
  • Pigs were the first animals to be domesticated. The first book on pig farming was written by Chinese Emperor Fo Hi in 3468 BC, but historians theorize that pigs were domesticated about 6000 years ago. The first pigs came to America in 1539 with the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto.
  • Pigs need glasses. Their eyesight is among the poorest of the barnyard species, but they have one of the most powerful noses. In France pigs are used to search for truffles due to their keen sense of smell.
  • Pigs are louder than jet engines.  What they lack in eyesight, they make up for in squeal. Pigs can scream up to 130 decibels! With jet engines coming it at 120 decibels compared to diesel engines at 80 decibels, you can imagine how noisy a group of pigs can be if they decide to cause a commotion.
  • Pigs have 4 toes on each foot but they only walk on two.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

Four-Paws

Faith Based Events

Parade

Thats Farming

Real Pig Farming


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